AFRICAN GRAY PARROT AND OTHER PARROTS. 183 



AFRICAN GRAY PARROT AND OTHER PARROTS. 



AGAINST no other class of birds does mankind express such deep hatred, and 

 upon no other does he bestow so much affection, as upon the Parrot. If any one 

 should ask me, " Are Parrots like any other animals? " I would reply, first, " They 

 are very like monkeys," and add quickly, " and very like men." It is because of 

 this manly-monkeyish quality, which brightens and lightens many of our otherwise 

 dull and heavy hours, that the Parrot has won his way, figuratively and literally, 

 from the huts of the wild negroes and Africa's tangled forests into the drawing- 

 rooms of dignified judges and learned divines. 



One other quality which endears the bird to his owner is his reflexiveness : we 

 speak in some unusual tone, or laugh heartily, or utter a witticism ; and on the 

 morrow, at the opportune moment, the Parrot laughs our laugh with a fidelity that 

 startles, and conjures up ghosts and ghouls ; or "he reads so closely the line" of 

 witticism, that roar jostles roar. Then, because he is monkeyish, we grasp him, 

 and call him brother. Mimicry and delicate flattery have great influence with all, 

 and the parrot is only a mimic and a flatterer. 



As there are about three hundred and fifty different varieties of Parrots, it 

 would be impossible to give, in a paper of this nature, even a brief sketch of any 

 great number of them ; so the article will treat particularly of those generally kept 

 caged in this country. 



The Gray Parrot, so called, has only two colors, the tail a deep red, and the 

 rest of the plumage an ashen gray, though the bare places about the eyes have 

 almost a whitish color. This bird is regarded as the most intelligent of all parrots. 

 It is certain that he can learn all sorts of words and long sentences ; and no vowel 

 or consonant, or any combination of any number of them which forms an English 

 word, presents difficulties of pronunciation which he cannot, with attention, over- 

 come. One more certainty may be noted : he never forgets a word or sentence 

 once learned. He may hear you say to a summer visitor, "Come, Smith, let's 

 go to Mount Washington ; " and next year, or in two years, whenever Smith calls 

 again, rest assured, as soon as the bird sees him and hears his voice, your invitation, 

 in your very tone and manner, will be repeated. 



The bird is a native of the west coast of Africa. Negroes take the young birds 

 from the nests, and also trap and snare the older ones, and sell to the captains or 

 mates of trading- vessels. Some are brought here via England ; but these are gener- 

 ally of poor quality, and refuse to live " just a hundred years to a day : " the best 

 are imported 'on barks plying between the "SVest Coast and Boston; these seem to 

 become partially acclimated in transit, and also learn to talk some, as the thrifty 



